And Ezra. He hadn’t said much, but he’d held my hand—his fingers ice-cold as he’d fought back his emotions.
The post-healing fatigue was intense, and time had gotten a little blurry. When I woke up to pale sunlight leaking through the drapes across the room’s large window, I couldn’t remember what day it was. My parched throat stung and I turned my head, searching for the ever-present cup of water.
Ezra was slumped in the chair beside my bed, his head resting against the wall and face slack as he dozed.
Forgetting about water, I stared at him. Just stared. Absorbing the sight. Letting it soothe me. The scruff on his jaw was thicker, approaching beard territory, and his long-sleeved shirt was wrinkled.
After a minute, I wiggled my arm out from under the blanket. My fingertips brushed his sleeve. He started, head jerking upright and eyes flying open. His attention snapped to me.
“Hey,” I croaked. “Water?”
Sitting up, he grabbed the cup off the table and passed it over. I drained it, sighed in relief, and passed it back to him. He set the cup aside and turned back to me, his gaze roving worriedly across my face.
“Am I allowed to have visitors for more than five minutes now?” I asked. “What day is it?”
“Friday.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Very funny.”
His eyebrows shot up. “I’m serious. For real serious. It’s Friday.”
“But I was attacked on Tuesday.”
He nodded. “You’ve been asleep. Healing always takes a lot out of a person.”
“But … over three days?”
“You were stabbed in the chest.” He brushed a scraggily curl off my face. “I thought we might lose you.”
“Pff. One little stab wound can’t keep me down.”
He smiled, but there was no humor in it. “There was nothing little about that dagger, according to Justin.”
“Where is he?”
“Work. Same with Aaron and Kai, but they’ll be back tonight to check on you.”
It took a bit of effort, but I sat up. “Any new developments?”
He studied me for a moment, somber and serious. “Aaron reported that Sin has been texting your brother.”
I blinked. “Huh?”
“We’re not sure when they exchanged numbers. They must’ve run into each other while visiting you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, but I meant real developments, not gossip.”
His grin flashed before his expression turned thoughtful. “Preparations at the guild are ongoing. Everyone who can help has been making artifacts and collecting weapons and gear, and Aaron’s been working the combat mythics hard.”
“What about Darius? Have the other guilds decided what to do about the Court yet?”
“MagiPol finally launched their investigation, but the other combat guilds haven’t done anything yet. With the temple in the cemetery destroyed, we have no hard evidence. Darius is trying to find the High Court so we have something to back up our claims.”
“You mean not everyone believes him?”
“They think he’s jumping to conclusions, either about the cult’s existence or about how bad it is. No one wants to believe there are demon mages in the city.” He shook his head. “He’s doing everything he can. Once my little problem is taken care of, he won’t have to tread so carefully.”
His little problem. He said it so nonchalantly, as though he were getting a filling at the dentist.
“The museum basement is working well,” he added. “We debated whether it was safe to use, but based on where you were attacked, Justin thinks the cultist staked out his cruiser instead of following you two to the museum. We haven’t found any signs of cultists in the area, and Robin and Amalia have been working on the ritual circle at night.”
A competing flux of dread and hope made my gut squirm. The Death tarot card danced in my mind’s eye, only to be replaced by the Hanged Man dangling from one ankle with a lifeless expression of peace on his face.
Before my emotions could get away from me, I flung the blankets off. “All right. I’m taking a shower.”
“You’re supposed to rest.”
“It’s been days, Ezra.” I slid my legs off the bed and pressed my bare feet to the cold tile floor. Aside from a few twinges in my torso, I felt nothing but overall stiffness and fatigue. “I need to be clean.”
He huffed. “Then wait a moment while I start a bath for you. You can’t fall down and crack your skull in a bath.”
He disappeared into the attached bathroom, and the sound of water splashing into a tub trickled through the open door. After a minute, he came back out—just in time to rush over as I tottered across the room.
“I’m fine,” I claimed, waving him off. “Just a bit weak in the knees, that’s all.”
He wrapped his arm around my waist anyway, so I allowed myself to lean into his sturdy warmth. He guided me into the bathroom, made sure I was steady, then stepped outside and closed the door. I used the toilet, washed my hands, then hobbled over to the tub to check the temperature. Too eager to wait for it to finish filling, I stripped off my medical gown and climbed in.
Sinking into the steaming water, I reclined against the slanted back of the tub. Wonderful. Amazing. The best feeling.
One I’d come so close to never experiencing again.
My fingers crept to my ribcage, and I found a tender spot where the dagger had pushed through my skin and into my organs. I prodded around a bit more, shocked as always by the miracle that was Arcana healing; you’d never know I’d had a hole punched through my chest. Remembering the feel of the blade, I hastily focused on pouring shampoo onto my palm and lathering it into my hair.
I slowly worked through a simple shampoo and soap process, but with each movement, I could feel exhaustion building in my limbs. I’d been healed before and bounced right back—but I hadn’t been terribly injured those times. The guys, however, had suffered varying degrees
